Latest news with #caucus
Washington Post
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Massie says bill in current form isn't 'sufficient for me'
Politics Massie says bill in current form isn't 'sufficient for me' May 20, 2025 | 7:11 PM GMT After a contentious GOP caucus meeting on May 20, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said his objection to Trump's bill was that the spending cuts didn't go far enough.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Opinion: Exclusivity will not fix the Utah GOP's caucus-convention system
As a Republican state delegate for the past 13 years, I am an active supporter of Utah's unique caucus convention system. Every two years, Utah Republicans and Democrats gather in neighborhood caucuses to elect county and state delegates. Those delegates then vet candidates and elect party nominees for county, state and federal office. During odd-numbered years, county and state conventions are held to elect leadership and consider party business. The annual Republican State Convention will be held this Saturday, and delegates will consider a proposal to amend the Utah Republican Constitution that would revoke membership in the Republican Party for any candidate who gathers signatures to get on the Republican Primary election ballot. This ill-conceived amendment should be opposed by delegates. Current Utah law requires political candidates to declare a specific path to obtain ballot access when they file to run for office. Candidates choose to get on the ballot through the convention process, by gathering signatures, or a combination of the two. I ran for Congress in 2024 and opted for both the convention and signature paths. Because I was a relatively unknown candidate with a limited budget, the convention process was especially important to my campaign. I spent hundreds of hours holding town halls, calling and visiting the just over 1,000 state delegates who represent hundreds of thousands of Republican voters in the third Congressional district. Many delegates took their job seriously and asked specific, issue related questions of candidates. Many other delegates chose not to engage in the process. I learned that delegate turnover is low and some delegates serve for decades. State delegates are also overwhelmingly male. The Utah Foundation recently published a survey showing that while there are more women voters in our state than men, women make up only 37% of Republican delegates. Because one must attend their biannual caucus meeting in person on a Tuesday in March to become a delegate, voters with young children, disabilities or who work during evening hours are vastly underrepresented in the pool of delegates. In 2024, our state Republican party decided to forgo the traditional June presidential primary in favor of a presidential preference poll held in conjunction with caucus night on Tuesday, March 5. Even with the added draw of participating in the Super Tuesday presidential poll, less than 10% of Utah Republicans turned out to the in-person caucus night. This lack of representation has created a system where candidates emerging from the state convention often do not have the widespread Republican support to win primary elections. In 2024, none of the Republican convention winners of contested races for statewide office won the Republican primary. This includes the U.S. Senate, governor, attorney general and state auditor races. For Utah's three contested House races, only one convention winner won the Republican primary. Some state delegates blame the disconnect on the large amount of money poured into primary elections by candidates who collect signatures. This is a fair criticism. With current requirements at 28,000 signatures for statewide office, candidates pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to signature-gathering companies to obtain ballot access. In some 2022 and 2024 races, candidates paid even more money to buy 'exclusivity' from signature-gathering firms (the practice of ensuring firms will not gather for one's opponents). This adds to the power of big money in Utah politics. A smaller signature threshold, with a requirement that candidates personally collect the signatures, would quickly remove the 'pay to play' state of elections in Utah. However, a proposal to expel Republican candidates who choose the signature path does not address the weaknesses of the caucus system. It is an effort to protect the power of current delegates rather than improve representation. Delegates and party leaders should work to expand participation among Utah Republicans. We must explore ways to better advertise caucus night to non-delegates and work to include those who cannot attend in-person caucus meetings on a Tuesday night. A more successful caucus convention system will not come from greater exclusivity. A constitutional republic derives its power from the people. The people elect representatives who exercise that power. If delegates work to exclude the majority of Utah Republican voters, they will continue to erode our caucus system. The proposed constitutional amendment is a bad idea, and Republican state delegates who believe in the caucus convention process should oppose it.
Daily Mail
14-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
How Musk's once-successful DOGE faced a downfall
By Elon Musk's DOGE has been declared 'dead' in Congress . In November, Donald Trump appointed Musk to lead DOGE and House lawmakers eagerly set up a caucus with over a hundred members to support the effort. The Congressional DOGE Caucus is comprised primarily of Republicans, though some more moderate Democrats, like Florida 's Rep. Jared Moskowitz, enthusiastically signed up. Caucus members soon caught flak for DOGE's sweeping cuts and layoffs, and constituents vented their anger at GOP town halls with screaming and swearing about the government-trimming antics of the world's richest man. The outrage was so acute that Musk's company Tesla was targeted by vandals globally and Democrats began participating in high-profile protests in front of federal agencies facing DOGE cuts. Musk has since wound down his governmental role and Trump has indicated that, although his work will continue, the billionaire will instead be spending more time on his personal businesses including Tesla. With Musk's departure the massive caucus in Congress is now defunct, says Moskowitz, who was its first Democratic member. 'The DOGE caucus is dead,' Moskowitz told CNN on Wednesday. 'It had two meetings in five months.' 'By the way, they forgot the E part of DOGE. Nothing has been more efficient.' ' Ask the people at Newark who are flying these days if they feel that we've made the FAA more efficient.' In an interview with Politico, the Democrat shared that the caucus has not met in months and the group is a 'complete failure.' In addition to practically all congressional Democrats, conservative Republicans have also had issues with the DOGE group. Conservative Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., reposted a clip of his friend Rep. Andy BIggs, R-Ariz., complaining about GOP members who are weak-stomached about enacting the sweeping cuts recommended by DOGE. 'We went from having a DOGE Caucus to this in less than six months. That's the swamp for you,' Crane posted on X. The cost-cutting department claims to have saved $170 billion, according to its site. However, to make many of those savings permanent Congress must vote to pass the funding changes, which many lawmakers seem reluctant to do. As for the DOGE Caucus, it appears that it is even being wound down by its leaders. When the Daily Mail reached out to the group's House email address a message was sent automatically saying the note was undeliverable - indicating that the DOGE Caucus's mailbox is no longer functioning. The office of Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., one of the co-chairs of the caucus, did not return the Daily Mail's request for comment. Trump announced that Musk would 'ease out' of his role as DOGE leader in late April.
Daily Mail
14-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
How Elon Musk's influence over Trump's administration is slowly fizzling out as even his DOGE caucus is declared 'dead'
Elon Musk's DOGE has been declared 'dead' in Congress. In November, Donald Trump appointed Musk to lead DOGE and House lawmakers eagerly set up a caucus with over a hundred members to support the effort. The Congressional DOGE Caucus is comprised primarily of Republicans, though some more moderate Democrats, like Florida 's Rep. Jared Moskowitz, enthusiastically signed up. Caucus members soon caught flak for DOGE's sweeping cuts and layoffs, and constituents vented their anger at GOP town halls with screaming and swearing about the government-trimming antics of the world's richest man. The outrage was so acute that Musk's company Tesla was targeted by vandals globally and Democrats began participating in high-profile protests in front of federal agencies facing DOGE cuts. Musk has since wound down his governmental role and Trump has indicated that, although his work will continue, the billionaire will instead be spending more time on his personal businesses including Tesla. With Musk's departure the massive caucus in Congress is now defunct, says Moskowitz, who was its first Democratic member. 'The DOGE caucus is dead,' Moskowitz told CNN on Wednesday. 'It had two meetings in five months.' 'By the way, they forgot the E part of DOGE. Nothing has been more efficient.' 'Ask the people at Newark who are flying these days if they feel that we've made the FAA more efficient.' In an interview with Politico, the Democrat shared that the caucus has not met in months and the group is a 'complete failure.' In addition to practically all congressional Democrats, conservative Republicans have also had issues with the DOGE group. Conservative Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., reposted a clip of his friend Rep. Andy BIggs, R-Ariz., complaining about GOP members who are weak-stomached about enacting the sweeping cuts recommended by DOGE. 'We went from having a DOGE Caucus to this in less than six months. That's the swamp for you,' Crane posted on X. The cost-cutting department claims to have saved $170 billion, according to its site. However, to make many of those savings permanent Congress must vote to pass the funding changes, which many lawmakers seem reluctant to do. As for the DOGE Caucus, it appears that it is even being wound down by its leaders. When the Daily Mail reached out to the group's House email address a message was sent automatically saying the note was undeliverable - indicating that the DOGE Caucus's mailbox is no longer functioning. The office of Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., one of the co-chairs of the caucus, did not return the Daily Mail's request for comment.
News.com.au
09-05-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
PM tells MPs to ‘deliver for the people' ahead of tough Labor caucus talks
Anthony Albanese has welcomed new MPs to the Labor party room and told them to 'deliver for the people'. The Prime Minister was met with cheers and applause as he entered the party room on Friday morning ahead of caucus talks when Labor factions will hash out who gets what portfolio in the re-elected Albanese government. Addressing MPs, Mr Albanese stressed they were sitting 'where decisions are made'. 'For those of you who are new, welcome,' he said. 'Your objective should be really clear, which is to continue to earn the right to sit in this room, at this end of this corridor, because this is where decisions are made that actually make a difference to the country. 'You need to be in government to make a difference.' But he said it was not about pursuing power for power's sake. 'We don't seek power for its own sake, not to decide who's in what part of the building,' Mr Albanese said. 'We seek power in order to deliver for the people who need Labor to be in government and to develop a better nation. 'That's our objective each and every day.'
